Chapter 201: Deciding Victory and Defeat, Determining Life and Death

Worried that True Lord Fengshui might give up the chase, Zhou Qing shouted a taunt. As soon as the words left his lips, the pursuing True Lord Fengshui, whose pace had been slowing, accelerated once more.

Sensing the movement behind him, a cold glint flashed in Zhou Qing’s eyes, and he began to hurl a torrent of foul abuse. He wasn't sure if he could truly enrage the fish demon—after all, humans and demons were different, and their cultures were not the same. However, after shouting a few vulgarities and noticing the reaction behind him, he redoubled his efforts. It was clear that True Lord Fengshui understood exactly what those coarse insults meant.

As the curses rang out, True Lord Fengshui roared in fury. He raised both hands simultaneously, and two spheres of compressed spiritual energy, glowing blue, flew toward Zhou Qing.

Sensing the impact behind him, Zhou Qing deactivated his protective barrier. He stomped hard against the ground, his body springing forward as if struck by the force, flying four or five yards ahead before collapsing onto the earth. Once down, he immediately scrambled away, feigning a look of terror as he glanced back at True Lord Fengshui and shouted, "You hybrid piece of trash, is that really all your strength amounts to?"

True Lord Fengshui, rather than being angered by this, began to laugh. His previous strike had caused damage to Zhou Qing—or at least, that was what Zhou Qing’s performance led him to believe. From the moment they met underwater to this pursuit halfway up the mountain, True Lord Fengshui had attacked Zhou Qing several times without leaving a single scratch on him. Now that he had finally managed to land a blow, he was convinced that his opponent was reaching his limit.

Buoyed by this thought and eager to avenge his son, he compressed another blue orb of spiritual energy and launched it at Zhou Qing.

"Wind, come!"

As the blue orb descended, Zhou Qing leaped forward, spinning in mid-air. He formed a seal with one hand and pointed it toward the pursuing True Lord Fengshui. A whirlwind of white mist manifested out of thin air, colliding directly with the compressed blue orb. The orb pierced through the whirlwind toward Zhou Qing, while the whirlwind surged toward True Lord Fengshui.

Having lowered his defenses, Zhou Qing was sent flying several yards by the impact of the blue orb. When he hit the ground, the orb exploded. Zhou Qing knew the power of that orb well; years ago, when he killed the Golden-Clad Venerable, that opponent had used the same attack against him. Back then, he had relied on the Robe of Avoiding Calamity to survive, albeit injured. Now, though he lacked the robe, his affinity for the earth element made his physical constitution even tougher than that garment.

The orb exploded against his body, dissipating into a faint blue radiance that sank into his skin. Though he was unharmed, the blast shredded the upper half of his clothes. He scrambled up from the ground, glanced at True Lord Fengshui—who had easily dissipated the whirlwind with a wave of his hand—and once again wore a look of utter terror. Only after he saw that the demon had witnessed his fear did Zhou Qing turn and continue his flight up the mountain.

Seeing the disheveled and frantic Zhou Qing nearby, True Lord Fengshui was ecstatic. The hatred that had festered in his heart for years was finally about to be avenged. He had been suspicious earlier; throughout the pursuit from the river, his attacks had yielded no results. He had even considered giving up, only for Zhou Qing to provoke him again. Although he had been furious, a nagging feeling had persisted that he was being lured up the mountain.

But now, everything was different. Not only had Zhou Qing been battered by his attack, but the human had actually dared to strike back. Zhou Qing hadn't launched a single attack until now, which to the demon, was a clear sign of a cornered beast. True Lord Fengshui knew his cultivation was superior, which was why he had been dominating the fight; if a weaker opponent was now resorting to desperate counterattacks, it only proved that he couldn't last much longer.

"Little Golden-Clad, today Daddy will finally avenge you," True Lord Fengshui whispered to himself as he watched Zhou Qing’s fleeing back, continuing his relentless pursuit toward the summit.

"You blockhead, you’ve fallen for it," Zhou Qing thought, stealing a glance at the pursuing demon. "Today, I will surely slaughter you on this mountain peak."

One believed he was on the verge of avenging his son, while the other was deceitfully leading his prey to the summit. As they raced upward, the two continued to exchange techniques. Zhou Qing did not use his full power, holding back half of his ability to feign weakness. He dodged some attacks with grace while intentionally taking others, putting on a convincing display of a desperate, wounded combatant.

As they ascended, True Lord Fengshui’s confidence grew. He saw Zhou Qing becoming increasingly bedraggled and viewed his opponent's spells as mere trifles, confident that his own Golden Scale True Body could withstand them without a scratch.

Suddenly, Zhou Qing’s speed surged, and he vanished over the crest of the mountain. True Lord Fengshui paused, stunned. "Is this a final flash of strength before death, or was he hiding his power all along?" he wondered, his pace slowing. He had maintained a steady distance from Zhou Qing the entire time; this sudden burst of speed was unexpected.

He stopped altogether, gazing up at the summit with a furrowed brow.

"You blockhead, hurry up!" a voice echoed from above. "Don't you want to avenge your nephew? I’m not running anymore. Let’s have a proper fight today—we shall see who is superior, and settle this once and for all."